In this interpretation, I think the story is resolved when Caden (which is a Welsh name meaning ‘itself’) realizes that he was Man, as it is expressed where Man means all of humanity, and that this quality existed in every person in his life.

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Thank you for writing your piece. I really enjoyed it

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First of all, in my theory of Synecdoche, the Absurdism/Surrealism is explained in rational terms by the suggestion that Caden has actually killed himself (his therapist asks him “is that why you killed yourself?” and then rephrases it – also his therapist is his own self-evaluating consciousness, similar to the relationship displayed in Eternal Sunshine when Dr. Howard explains to a panicked and dreaming Joel “I’m you”). Caden remembers (falsely) having been stopped in his attempt at suicide, but the character who appears to show him as he truly is, ‘explains’ the fallacy to him by actually succeeding, and becoming a symbol of the fragmented state in which Caden now, well, lives.

In my analysis, Caden is actually manifesting his own ailments in order to cope with the fact that not only is death inevitable, but it has already occurred to him. I think the last scene with Olive is a reality only to Caden, manifested by the fear remaining about Maria and Adele’s influence and his lack of effect on his child before he died. When the entire world-within-a-world and so on becomes apocalyptic as Caden himself dies, I think its a clue that all of it was an aspect his post-mortem self.
The necessary acceptance of death – necessary to the character Caden, as well as to evolution of the story interpreted in this manner – becomes possible in the final scene, when Caden, trying through the whole film to mend and understand the things that went wrong in his life (thus requiring such a reflection of it), realizes that his life was not about him at all. He was not a main character in the selfish sense that led him through so many obstacles. He was just one of many, each a reflection, and each equally valuable.

There were a few things that struck me as interesting but I haven’t been able to decipher completely I would love it if you would give your insights.

Age
In Caden’s first play he lets old people play young people. The question of age comes up silently a few times throughout the movie. He is always old, and his girl is always young. His daughter seems to become older faster than he does.

Ellen
His final choice of letting Ellen direct him is interesting because we start to see that Caden is coming to terms with the fact that he wants to no longer see the truth. He was always surrounded by death. He chose to ignore the fact that Hazel is not perfect for him (shown by the burning house) and follows her. This results in only death. When Ellen portrays him he likes what he sees, she is interesting and quite renewing. The funeral scene is the only scene in the whole movie that is out of place. It is created by the person that Caden wants to be, even when she is playing him.

Ending

I did not understand why all the people were dead at the end. Was it because of Ellens mis-directing or did they all take the role of Caden upon themselves and die. Everybody seems to die around Caden. Yet we see only his death as important ” there are 15 million people out there and each one is a main character” (this is probably incorrectly quoted but you know what I mean. This is a lie the play only ends when Caden dies not when any other character does.

I would love to hear a response send it here please! Casesbach AT hotmail DOT com

Here are some of my thoughts having whatched it 5/6 times!:

I think the house on fire represents her fears as a 36 year old woman of dying alone….

Has anyone logged the number of scenes in which Sammy appears in the background before he is formally introduced? I reckon at least 10!
I think the only reason the Sammy character commits suicide is that he has fallen in love with Hazel but realises he’s only a secondary character to Caden, so kills himself. I can’t understand why they rebuild the Berlin scene though? Are they recreating scenes form earlier in Cadens life? Or have they rebuilt Berlin as well as synedachy/new york?!

You don’t mention the war/apocalyptic overtones at the end? I reckon Caden’s set/warehouses are now so vast that they have consumed the earth’s resources and people break in and run riot and the world is effectively destroyed!
I am OK with the “ellen” character. The monologue that Caden hears while he is driving the buggy is all about how “you are everyone and everyone is you”. This allows him to make the connection with Ellen who he has never met, as a fellow member of the (perishing) human race.

The bits I still don’t get are the cleaning lady character…How does caden become edeles cleaner? Does the real cleaner just not turn up and he is given the keys by the old lady? Or did sammy set it up?

I’d have to say the funeral recreation scene is my least favourite scene! Its the first scene millicent has taken over the artistic vision and seems deliberately overwrought? Kind of like in adaptation where donald’s twin takes over writing and it turns into a more conventional Hollywood thriller? Also which funeral are they recreating? Hazel’s? And WHY DOES CADEN HAVE A FULL HEAD OF HARI IN THIS SCENE?(this really annoyed me….)

Anyway what an amazing film..so many things to take from it..-lyrics I think by MrKaufman?

I’m just a little person
One person in a sea
Of many little people
Who are not aware of me

I do my little job
And live my little life
Eat my little meals
Miss my little kid and wife

And somewhere, maybe someday
Maybe somewhere far away
I’ll find a second little person
Who will look at me and say

“I know you
You’re the one I’ve waited for
Let’s have some fun.”

This story is universal. It builds up in each of us and screams to be told from time to time, but we are too ashamed to admit we feel so helpless, insignificant and ignorant. So we repress it and push it down inside of us as far as we can so that we can back burner the dreaded feelings for as long as possible.

The movie tries to the immeasurable void of darkness and despair that sometimes consumes us to our core into a workable medium. These transformative feelings have no shape, have no boundaries, yet Kaufman is able to visually show us a reflection of ourselves. He wrestles these unexplainable bunches of feeling and emotions for two hours on-screen, and just like us, he can't quite pin down this beast that resides in all of us. Absurdity and surrealism are the only tools to convey such a powerful message.

Other ideas I think he especially focused on were the ideas of fate, our inability to truly feel empathy/sympathy for anyone but ourselves, solipsism, and quite obviously, the relativity of time.

The Robert Frost poem, "Nothing Gold Can Stay," popped into my head immediately when the movie finished. Just like this movie, it is simple and profound all at the same time.

Nature's first green is gold,
Her hardest hue to hold.
Her early leafs a flower;
But only so an hour.
Then leaf subsides to leaf.
So Eden sank to grief,
So dawn goes down to day.
Nothing gold can stay.